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Monday, February 22, 2010

SHOULD SALISBURY DUMP ANOTHER $100,000 PLUS INTO THE MARINA?

At tonight’s City Council meeting, a proposed contract for engineering and construction of new gasoline tanks and pumps at the City Marina is on the agenda – the price is 106,642.50.

Does this make any sense, even if it will allow for gas to be sold there? The marina is not competitive, and has been subsidized by the City for some years. Is continuing to do that with even more money in the public interest even if it is paid for with "Open Space" funds or other free state money?

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

the marina by brew river is a joke!
no way salisbury should be dumoing money into it! who in their right mind wants to dock their boat in a cesspool? the wicomico river is disgusting!

Anonymous said...

No matter how or where they are getting the money from the taxpayers, it's ridiculous. They should sell the marina or close it down ASAP.

And they could use that money to fix up that old standpipe!

Anonymous said...

at least tax PAYERS would enjoy it

Anonymous said...

NO!

Use it to fix up the Downtown Plaza since they didn't get any open space money for that boondoogle.

Anonymous said...

10:07 --

Are you a city tax payer, like me.

Now way is this going to benefit anyone in Salisbarrie except a few who are affluent -- it's "welfare for the wealthy".

Anonymous said...

Give that money to Pollitt to waste for more parking at the Civic Center.

Anonymous said...

Hey, now, we gotta have a nice place for that new fireboat, folks.

Anonymous said...

You have to love this place -- subsidizing power boaters and poodle owners, while the roads, schools, etc. go to pot and the City gets another $50,000 fine for pollution in the river.

Anonymous said...

The should give the marina to the County so Gary Mackes can run it into the ground at even greater cost to the taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Yes, and they should revamp all the river areas and make it a tourist destination, like most cities do that have water ways.

Anonymous said...

10:22-

Time for "reality check".

Salisbury's "waterfront" will never be a "tourist destination" what with the beach to the east and the bay to the west.

And how well have those condo project done -- or do you know the details?

Anonymous said...

It's true. Where the money is coming from should not be dismissed by thinking if we don't take it someone else will. That's what got us a fire boat that will be expensive to operate and maintain and landed us as county taxpayers with an overpriced parking lot.
That aside, the briefing book indicates that the funding is to get the fuel tank issues resolved and be able to provide fuel at the marina again. Whether the city would retain ownership of the marina or not, fuel tanks would be essential. This is a matter of the city taking care of what it has. Get teh tanks in, give the marina commission (wich seems to be doing a much, much better job of managing the affairs of the marina than that high paid management company did) a chance to make a go of it and if they can't another course of action is in order. Bottom line, the fuel tanks are a neccessity and it is a good thing that the state will be helping with the funding.

Anonymous said...

Sell it to a private company who know how to spend THEIR money and make things work. These people holding positions in this city dont even how to use a snow scraper lot alone manage a marina. Its OJT for most. (on the job training on our dime).

Anonymous said...

No I dont think they should. They city has proved by their waste water plant they cant handle EPA issues. Why allow them to end up dumping even more into the polluted river.

Anonymous said...

I have attented several meetings where two local fuel companies have agreed to install the tanks and take care of them if they get the profits, the city can't stand the thought of someone else making a success of thier failure.

Anonymous said...

The problem with the downtown marina is the Marina committee ! This group has controlled gas prices and operation for 20 plus years so that it wouldn't hurt the Wicomico Yacht Club which most are members of . For a minimal expense they could cover some of the slips which would sell out immediately and lower the fuel prices . The Marina when it first opened actually paid for itself but with the outside influence of the Marina committee looking out for the Wicomico Yacht club it has struggled .

Anonymous said...

In theory this is good idea to attract visiting boaters. Considering Salisbury has nothing to offer I doubt anyone would want to visit via boat.

Anonymous said...

If Ireton lets this happen, he can forget about my voting for him again!

Anonymous said...

10:11-

"welfare for the wealthy" -- now that's a bullseye.

Anonymous said...

The Marina was once a vibrant place but lack of attention and promotion has hurt plus the lack of development downtown . It would be stupid to let the marina go when it has the potential of being a center piece of the town .

Anonymous said...

Anyone who would come here on the Wicomico River to visit Salisbury is too senile to be running a boat.

Anonymous said...

That marina is a literal crap hole. Nobody wants to use it because of the seagulls. They take the chicken waste from Perdue, fly over, and eat it on the docks. They also crap all over everything under the sky around there.

What they need to do is lease it to a private company for a medium amount of time like 10 years. They pay $x per year to the city for the privledge of operating the marina. They are responsible for the maintenance and upgrades, and they get any profit that they make out of it after they make their payment. They are also caught with the loss if it doesn't work out.

Anonymous said...

It's the wealthy who keeps you employed I wouldn't bitch too much maybe your job will be next !

Anonymous said...

10:48... what you are suggesting is that we should throw bad money after bad... is this Rick Pollitt?

Anonymous said...

There is no need for pumps there, you can get fuel 6 miles down at the yacht club. Sped the money on powerwashers to clean the seagull droppings off the docks. The place is disgusting. A couple times a year we pick up passengers on the transient pier (closest to Brew River) and I have to clean the pier because I don't want it all over my boat.

Anonymous said...

NO! There should be a moratorium on all city and county funding except where it concerns public safety until things turn around. Then there needs to be more accountability and oversight of expenditures and line item oversight.

Anonymous said...

Watch what you speak of. Thats shannies West Side!

Anonymous said...

Watch what you speak of. Thats shannies West Side!

Anonymous said...

Let me see, 10 cents a gallon profit, now how many gallons do we have to sell again???????

Anonymous said...

"Welfare for the wealthy"?
90%+ of the boats in the marina are not worth over 20k. Yes the marina is a dump along with being in the middle of crack city. I have boated on the Chesapeake all my life and NEVER, NEVER, NEVER heard of one boater who would visit the Port of Salisbury.
No expenditure for fuel tanks when fuel is available down river.
Sign me the crazy one.

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that back around September at the Council meeting, Pam Oland said that new tanks could be had for around 25-35k. Remember? It was when they were discussing whether to fire the existing management company or something.

Joe? Got that on tape???

Anonymous said...

The marina needs to be saved, fixed and made part of the downtown renovations. And, in case you have not been there recently, they have made great progress on dealing with the birds and geese, it is Brew River's dock that needs attention.

Anonymous said...

Better yet, send the few slipholders to the Wicomico Yacht Club, they can't fill thier slips anymore, and close the marina all together. Remember, if you put tanks in, you HAVE to sell enough fuel to keep it fresh. Where would the boats come from to buy it. Thats right, the same yacht club that sells it for cost to it's members. Duh.....

Anonymous said...

The Wicomico Yacht Club could actually sell a lot of fuel and provide a service (and make a few dollars) but you have no service, you get a key from a battleax of a bartender that growls at you, I hate even going there, but no other choice.